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And then bless us

For a bunch of pagans, there's a shitload of blessing going on in the Hits this week, but what the hell — we just got an award that's nothing to sneeze at. The Metro Times series about Fredrick Freeman's questionable murder conviction more than two decades ago was recognized by the State Bar of Michigan in the group's 34th annual Wade H. McCree Jr. Awards for the Advancement of Justice.

Written by MT staff writer Sandra Svoboda, the articles "Reasonable Doubt, Parts 1 and 2" focused on the tenuous evidence prosecutors had of his guilt and on the ongoing efforts made by the imprisoned man's supporters to free him.

Freeman remains in prison.

Svoboda received an honorable mention from the bar association. It was the second Metro Times MCree award in as many years. We took home some hardware last year for stories we did about the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office working with a judge to allow police officers to present perjured testimony in the trial of two accused drug dealers. That bit of messy business is still being sorted out. The awards are presented annually to foster greater public understanding of the legal and judicial system.